. >>> the united states and china appear to be on a collision course. china has promised to investigate today after protesters swarmed u.s. ambassador gary locke's car in beijing. he got stuck in a demonstration which was technically taking place over japan's control of islands in the south china sea. it was an image which got a lot of people's attention and caused anxiety given actions we've seen in the middle east. the move in china comes as leon panetta wrapped up a very important visit. a crucial visit. he met with the future chinese president and on the agenda, the american military build up in asia, which china sees as a direct threat. and in fact, the relationship between the u.s. and its allies has become one of the bigs issues of 2012. amid signs the president could be losing ground when it comes to foreign policy. we wanted to talk about this poll and stood out to me. take a look at this poll. it shows the president's approval rating on the issue of foreign policy has fallen 12 points among independents. "outfront" tonight, stphanie cutter. go